A Huyton man has walked free from court after leading police on a high-speed chase along the M56, with his Audi reaching speeds of 165mph. Luke Plumley, of Lansbury Road in Huyton, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court this week after previously admitting dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without insurance.
The court was shown dashcam footage from Cheshire Constabulary officers who attempted to keep pace with Plumley's Audi SQ2 during the incident on June 29 last year. The pursuit took place along the Chester stretch of the motorway, where Plumley weaved in and out of traffic and forced other vehicles out of his way.
Police unable to keep pace
The pursuing police car's dashcam showed it was travelling at 150mph while Plumley's car was not even in the picture. Officers later reached 154mph but were still out of sight of the Audi. At one point, police were forced to pursue Plumley along the hard shoulder.
Plumley was eventually forced to slow down as traffic got heavier, allowing police officers to catch up. Even when braking, the pursuing police car was travelling at around 90mph, according to the dashcam footage.
Court hearing and sentence
Judge Natalie Cuddy told Plumley: "It is only good fortune that you or someone else didn't die on that day – had you impacted someone at that speed, it would have happened."
Daniel Travers, defending, told the court: "It is a serious offence - the driving was appalling and very fast on the hard shoulder and thankfully no one was injured. I asked why he drove like this, and he told me that the passenger in the vehicle told him to."
Plumley was eventually stopped, with an unnamed passenger trying to run away from police, according to the Wirral Globe. He initially denied the charges before changing his pleas to guilty on the day of his trial.
Sentence and disqualification
Plumley was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for one year. The judge also disqualified him from driving for two years and ordered an extended re-test.
Judge Cuddy added: "It is surprising that you engaged in that driving when I read the description given by you in references. You have caring responsibilities for your partner and children with additional needs and I need to take that into account. Any custodial sentence would be devastating for them."
